“We’re in Pleasantville. It’s an old warehouse building that we have converted into a table tennis club. We have over 13,000 square feet,” says Will Shortz, who owns the center with partner Robert Roberts.

Shortz says table tennis is actually the second most played sport in the world.

“I call table tennis a thinking person’s game. You train your body to execute the shots that you want,” he says. “It’s fantastic exercise. It’s great exercise for the brain, as well as the body, and it’s good social fun too.”

He adds that there is no difference between this and ping pong.

“Ping pong is the game. Table tennis is the sport,” says Shortz.

The center opens at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 7, 2011. It is located at 175 Tompkins Avenue in Pleasantville.